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Snow snow snow!

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Solid_Fuel_Man
Solid_Fuel_Man Member Posts: 2,646
in THE MAIN WALL
This is the current state of my roof...

Top of that chimney is 30" above roofline. This is my spring/fall woodstove in living room. Used when radiant slab is too big of a flywheel.

Shovel those roofs!
Serving Northern Maine HVAC & Controls. I burn wood, it smells good!

Comments

  • Gordy
    Gordy Member Posts: 9,546
    edited February 2017
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    The rafters, or trusses are moaning......
    need one of these

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQmLe_SOhQw
    ratiorick in Alaska
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,478
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    In 2015 we had some roof collapses, as far as I know they were all flat roofs. I did hear about some damage done to trussed roofs, they were not able to handle 4 ft of snow. people were paying thousands of dollars to have snow removed from their roofs.

    My roof rafters are 2X5" hard fir and they handled the snow in 2015 without complaint. My chimney is 36" above the roof and the snow was above that, luckily the boiler ran enough to keep the flue clear. I did remove the snow from the lower part of the roof to ease the ice dams. I saw some ice dams in the area 8-12" thick, took a few gutters right off the roof edge.

    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • Solid_Fuel_Man
    Solid_Fuel_Man Member Posts: 2,646
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    @Gordy I actually have one of those. Raked this roof a month ago. We have had very heavy snowfall this year. We had 200" in 2008
    Serving Northern Maine HVAC & Controls. I burn wood, it smells good!
    Gordy
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,478
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    Does it tend to catch the lower edge of the roof shingles as you push it up the roof?

    I have a regular roof rake that works ok as long as the snow is somewhat fluffy. If it's heavy thick snow I put up a ladder and drag the snow off with a steel rake, a bit messy but it works. i just don't know how many more years I'll be able to do that kind of work.

    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • bob eck
    bob eck Member Posts: 930
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    Solid_Fuel_Man said:

    @Gordy I actually have one of those. Raked this roof a month ago. We have had very heavy snowfall this year. We had 200" in 2008

    Where are you located at.
  • Solid_Fuel_Man
    Solid_Fuel_Man Member Posts: 2,646
    edited February 2017
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    Aroostook County Maine.

    @BobC the one I have actually does a great job. Local guy makes them. He sells them nationally I believe. Allagashroofrakes.com
    Serving Northern Maine HVAC & Controls. I burn wood, it smells good!
  • lchmb
    lchmb Member Posts: 2,997
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    on a good note the skiing is great this year....;) I really need to put a metal roof on this house...
    Gordy
  • Solid_Fuel_Man
    Solid_Fuel_Man Member Posts: 2,646
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    Metal is not always the answer. I've seen way too many Electric services get cleaned off by sliding ice, as well as vent pipes, metal chimneys etc. Just plan where all that snow will go when it slides.
    Serving Northern Maine HVAC & Controls. I burn wood, it smells good!
  • Gordy
    Gordy Member Posts: 9,546
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    @Solid_Fuel_Man, I have often thought that about metal roofs. Unintended consequences. You can always install the snow guards, but then that defeats the purpose of not having to clean the roof. in snow country.

    Only seen one instance in my area where we had to shovel roofs. Blizzard 78/79.
  • Solid_Fuel_Man
    Solid_Fuel_Man Member Posts: 2,646
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    Wow, life really is amazingly different in different parts of our country. When I lived in western Massachusetts it was almost unheard of to get sub-zero Temps. Around here we get several weeks that the temp won't reach positive numbers. It was -20 this morning, didn't think much of it.

    When I built my home in 2009 I had the truss engineer design my trusses for 90lbs/ft sq. I figure that equates to at least 80 lbs of snow load considering roofing and decking. I'm not going to worry much about the weight. And plenty of insulation and vented properly makes ice dams a non-issue.
    Serving Northern Maine HVAC & Controls. I burn wood, it smells good!
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,544
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    Metal roof.
    I just love it when people put condensing units or roof top units on the ground right next to a building.

    Destruction
  • Solid_Fuel_Man
    Solid_Fuel_Man Member Posts: 2,646
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    I'll have to take some pics of some mini-split installs and what the ice does to them. Especially when they are attached to the house with a wall bracket!

    This year has been unusual in that metal roofs have not slid, the first snow was a mix and gave the metal a gritty coating. Now there are many thick ice dams on what would otherwise be clean metal roofs. Ice gets heavy enough and enough heat underneath and you know the rest of the story. Unintended consequences as Gordy says.
    Serving Northern Maine HVAC & Controls. I burn wood, it smells good!
  • Gordy
    Gordy Member Posts: 9,546
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    Yup.....
    rick in AlaskaSolid_Fuel_ManBrewbeer
  • John Mills_5
    John Mills_5 Member Posts: 951
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    Come on you wetheads, put snowmelt systems on your roofs!
  • Gordy
    Gordy Member Posts: 9,546
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    I think that is a highly missed opportunity. Double down for DHW production, or preheat in the summer.
    rick in Alaska
  • rick in Alaska
    rick in Alaska Member Posts: 1,457
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    Wow! Now that is a great idea! Use a flat plate heat exchanger and you are good to go. Definitely something to think about. That is, as long as your gutters drain somewhere.
    Rick
  • PinkTavo
    PinkTavo Member Posts: 64
    edited February 2017
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    I had a Professor of Architecture who was from Finland. He said the old homes built there were designed to keep the snow on them all winter long. His claim was that it provided insulation. From Wikipedia: "Snow is roughly R-1 per inch". So 24 inches = R-24! Some other sources I found said up to R-2...depends on moisture content, etc.
  • PinkTavo
    PinkTavo Member Posts: 64
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    On another note. My roofer up in Grand Lake Colorado keeps his crew busy all year long...some 6 guys...by doing roof snow removal as a preventative measure. They also make repairs as required after damage (ice will actually pull shingles off in sheets) to get folks thru the winter until a true repair can be done.
  • Aaron_in_Maine
    Aaron_in_Maine Member Posts: 315
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    I built my little guy a sledding hill right off the back deck. This is in Brunswick. He loves it.

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

    Solid_Fuel_ManGordy
  • Leonard
    Leonard Member Posts: 903
    edited February 2017
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    Problem with metal roofs is if it rains and you have one roof driping on another say just 4-5 ft down it makes so much noise you'll never get to sleep.

    80 #/sq-ft is high for us ( southern NH), here code for flat roof was 40, now 45. Think code for sloped roofs is less.
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,478
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    @Aaron_in_Maine We had a lot of snowy winters back in the 50's in the Boston area. When I was his age my cousin and I were building forts on the front lawn and having snowball fights with the kids across the street.

    Everything was fine till someones aim wavered and a window got taken out . . .

    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
    Solid_Fuel_ManAaron_in_Maine

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